Chapter 2791: One Hundred Thousand Years of Cultivation
Sixth Patriarch's golden body, as large as a hall, stood beneath the Three Lives Gate and said, "Bold ghost creature, how dare you commit murder within this patriarch's master's Buddha body? What crime do you admit to?"
God Jin Ju's expression shifted in alarm. He looked toward Bore, who was lying on the golden water surface, and quickly said, "No, no, how would this junior dare to disturb Yunqing Ancient Buddha's peace? Even less would I dare to kill and ruin the ancient Buddha's cultivation. Bore is a divine maiden of the Destiny Temple. As a god of the Hell Realm, how could I possibly kill her?"
"She is not dead! Only her divine body has been injured, and her divine soul has suffered some degree of damage."
The main part of the divine soul is primarily located within the divine source.
As long as the divine source is not destroyed, it is very difficult for the divine soul to be completely extinguished.
However, the vast majority of gods, when they know they are about to die, will destroy the divine soul and rule artifacts within their divine source. First, to prevent a complete divine source from falling into enemy hands. Second, to avoid falling into a fate worse than death.
The divine soul that Bore had shattered was the one located within her divine body.
The divine soul within her divine source had not been greatly affected.
"Buddha, look!"
God Jin Ju pressed both hands out through the air, and streaks of light patterns surged forth. Above Bore's injured body, he gathered all the fragments of her divine soul into a faint soul shadow.
The soul shadow looked exactly like Bore.
The soul shadow descended and completely overlapped with Bore's divine body.
It had to be said, no race could compare to the Ghost Clan in their control over soul power.
"The divine soul has been recondensed. She will wake up soon."
God Jin Ju was extremely anxious and did not dare to look directly at the Sixth Patriarch.
After all, with the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm at war again, they were absolutely hostile parties. God Jin Ju could only hope that the Sixth Patriarch truly did not want to kill within Yunqing Ancient Buddha's remains and would let him go.
"Sixth Patriarch, you cannot let him go. He is a god of the Ghost Clan," Xiao Hei said again.
God Jin Ju was already terrified, and when he heard Xiao Hei adding fuel to the fire, he became furious in his heart. He said, "Buddha, this cat is the son of the Ice King of the Undying Blood Clan. He has committed many evil deeds, loves to drink blood, especially the blood of Buddhist cultivators."
Xiao Hei did not expect God Jin Ju to be so cunning, turning the tables on him. He said urgently, "How dare you slander this emperor?"
"I am not slandering you. There is the blood aura of Yunqing Ancient Buddha within your body, proving that after entering the ancient Buddha's remains, you have devoured no small amount of divine venerable blood," God Jin Ju said.
...
"Stop arguing!"
The Sixth Patriarch's voice was vast and mighty. He stared at God Jin Ju and said, "Do you know that this little girl has some connection with this patriarch?"
It was at this moment that Bore slowly woke up, but she was very weak.
God Jin Ju was first quite surprised, then his eyes widened as he thought of a huge secret of the Hell Realm.
Legend had it that the Sixth Patriarch and Yinsnow Heaven of the Underworld Clan had both studied Buddhism under Yunqing Ancient Buddha as master and disciple, and were close as fellow disciples. Thus, in the Sixth Patriarch's heart, there was no distinction between living beings and the dead; all beings were equal.
There was another legend: Nutian Shenzun of the Destiny Temple was the son of Yinsnow Heaven.
However, this legend had never been confirmed, and no one dared to confirm it.
Now, hearing the Sixth Patriarch say such words, God Jin Ju immediately thought of this. Aside from this connection, what other relationship could Bore, a young woman over a thousand years old, have with the Sixth Patriarch?
Zhang Ruochen, of course, did not know the legend that "Nutian Shenzun might be the son of Yinsnow Heaven." The reason he had said what he did was merely to scare God Jin Ju, to prevent him from continuing to trouble Bore in the future.
Zhang Ruochen was about to fabricate a lie when he saw God Jin Ju kneel down again, saying in panic, "Buddha, please see clearly. This junior truly did not know that Divine Maiden Bore is your esteemed disciple's grand-disciple. Had I known, I would have treated her with utmost respect and not dared to offend in the slightest."
Disciple's grand-disciple?
All the cultivators present were stunned.
Even Zhang Ruochen and Bore themselves were surprised and could not understand.
Wasn't Bore clearly a disciple of Nutian Shenzun? How had she become the Sixth Patriarch's disciple's grand-disciple?
Had God Jin Ju been scared witless by the Sixth Patriarch's might?
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "But you have still offended! Look at how badly you have injured her. Even if this patriarch, with his virtue of cherishing life, spares you, can Nutian spare you?"
God Jin Ju did not dare to be the slightest bit presumptuous. He said, "This junior is willing to use ten thousand years of cultivation to help Divine Maiden Bore heal her injuries."
"Ten thousand years of cultivation?"
Beneath the Three Lives Gate.
The Sixth Patriarch's gaze fell upon Kongli Canghai, who was frozen in the ice and already dead.
God Jin Ju noticed this and realized that the Sixth Patriarch was about to become angry. He quickly said, "One hundred thousand years! This junior is willing to disperse one hundred thousand years of cultivation to help Divine Maiden Bore strengthen her divine soul, condense her divine source, and cultivate her divine realm world, allowing her to directly reach the realm of a Mid-level God."
The Sixth Patriarch said, "One hundred thousand years of cultivation is too great a loss! Are you not afraid of falling back to the realm of a High-level God? Are you not afraid of being unable to survive the next Eon Calamity?"
God Jin Ju pressed his palms together and said, "I am not afraid! As you sow, so shall you reap. It was all my fault, and I should do my utmost to make amends. Moreover, Divine Maiden Bore is the Buddha's disciple's grand-disciple. To pass on my power to her, this junior feels immensely honored."
God Jin Ju was suffering bitterly in his heart. As a great god, renowned across the starry river, commanding billions of ghost soldiers and generals, why had he come to the Abyss of Darkness?
Why was his luck so bad that he had provoked the Sixth Patriarch?
Fortunately, he was clever enough to decisively abandon one hundred thousand years of cultivation. In this way, the Sixth Patriarch would naturally find it hard to kill him, and he could save his own life.
As for the cultivation he had abandoned, he could only make up for it in the Abyss of Darkness by devouring the divine souls of a few more gods.
God Jin Ju spat out a white bone altar, which grew to over three hundred zhang in height.
The altar was covered with ancient and mysterious sacrificial patterns. As God Jin Ju activated the altar, the white bones slowly shifted, erupting with powerful yin energy.
"Divine Maiden Bore, please!" God Jin Ju said.
Bore had already recovered some strength and stood up. Even now, she was still confused. How had the Sixth Patriarch appeared? It was too unbelievable.
In her confusion, she stepped onto the white bone altar.
Using the white bone altar as a medium, God Jin Ju continuously transferred his cultivation to Bore.
Fortunately, Bore could be considered half a dead spirit and had cultivated the Gate of True Self. She could use the Gate of True Self to transform God Jin Ju's divine soul power, divine qi, and rule divine patterns.
Xiao Hei watched with extreme envy, only regretting that he had no connection whatsoever with the Sixth Patriarch. Otherwise, wouldn't it be wonderful to seize one hundred thousand years of cultivation from God Jin Ju?
Chi Yao thought to herself, "With this opportunity, Bore has turned misfortune into fortune. She only needs to fully integrate God Jin Ju's power, and within ten thousand years, she will surely reach the realm of a High-level God."
Not only Xiao Hei, but even Fengchen Sword God was extremely envious.
But he could only be envious.
Because only an existence like the Sixth Patriarch could force a great god to voluntarily offer one hundred thousand years of cultivation. If it were outside, even a God Venerable could not force God Jin Ju to do such a thing.
After all, God Jin Ju was a god of Wuchang Ghost City, and Wuchang Ghost City also had terrifying existences at the God Venerable level.
With the help of the white bone altar, the power transfer did not take too long.
When the transfer ended, Bore's injuries had completely healed. Her divine soul had become extremely powerful, and the divine might within her body could not be controlled, constantly surging outward. Yet, she was still at the realm of a Low-level God.
For her, she only needed to condense her divine realm world, and she would immediately become a Mid-level God.
However, condensing a divine realm world was not something that could be done overnight; it would take a lot of time.
In contrast, God Jin Ju had become extremely weak. The divine light on his body flickered dimly and brightly, a sign of unstable realm. He put away the white bone altar, bowed, and said, "Buddha, may this junior leave now?"
The golden Buddha shadow of the Sixth Patriarch required Zhang Ruochen's blood to sustain.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen's blood had already been heavily drained.
But he still chose to hold on a little longer and said, "Amitabha! Jin Ju, you should know that the biggest reason this patriarch is letting you go is that all things in the world have their reason for existence. All beings are equal, and good and evil have their rewards. The Ghost Clan also has its value in living and should not all be killed."
Every Buddha had their own different Buddhist teachings.
The Sixth Patriarch's teaching was "All beings are equal." Zhang Ruochen knew this because the secret technique "All Beings Are Equal" was first created by the Sixth Patriarch.
God Jin Ju showed a devout expression and said, "The Buddha's great wisdom! The gods of the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm are all stubborn, and no one can compare to the Buddha."
Zhang Ruochen added, "But this patriarch can spare you, but Nutian will never spare you. You should know Nutian's temperament, right?"
God Jin Ju showed a look of fear, genuinely feeling some dread.
If, in the Abyss of Darkness, he had killed Bore and the others to silence them, he would naturally have nothing to fear.
But with the Sixth Patriarch in the Abyss of Darkness, how could he still dare to do that?
Moreover, he had killed quite a few gods and devoured their divine souls. Once Bore and the others spread the news, not to mention Nutian Shenzun, just the Darkness Temple, the Death God Temple, the Ice King... would be enough to make him have no place to stand in the Hell Realm, or even make him utterly destroyed, body and soul.
He couldn't just hide in the Abyss of Darkness forever, could he?
Staying in such a dangerous place for too long would inevitably lead to great peril and death without a burial place.
The more he thought about it, the more God Jin Ju felt that coming to the Abyss of Darkness was the most unwise decision he had ever made, and his heart was filled with some sorrow. Would he have to flee to the edge of the universe?
Zhang Ruochen said, "This patriarch can point you to a clear path!"
"Buddha, save me," God Jin Ju said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You will worship Bore as your master and study Buddhism with her. Since you have become Nutian's disciple's disciple, he will naturally no longer trouble you. If he does trouble you, you tell him that this is this patriarch's decision. It is this patriarch who sees that you have a connection with Buddhism and wishes to spare your life."
God Jin Ju had originally thought he had no way out, but upon hearing these words, his heart suddenly became clear.
Yes, as long as he worshipped Bore as his master, they would all be on the same boat. Naturally, they would not speak of the deaths of Kongli Canghai and the other gods, thus cutting off all future worries.
From then on, he would still be a great god of Wuchang Ghost City, and he could still devour the divine souls of other gods in the Abyss of Darkness. He only needed to learn Buddhism.
What was so difficult about that?
Just following a little girl to learn Buddhism, and in return, gaining backers like Nutian Shenzun and the Sixth Patriarch—wasn't that a huge gain? Back then, Yinsnow Heaven was incredibly powerful, yet she still worshipped Yunqing Ancient Buddha as her master and studied Buddhism.
While God Jin Ju was overjoyed, Bore was even more lost and confused. A Low-level God taking a great god as a disciple... this... the Sixth Patriarch's way of doing things was indeed unconventional.